This invention relates in general to headlights and in particular to headlights having a low height-to-width ratio which makes them suitable for incorporation into motor vehicles or the like having highly streamlined bodies.
The streamlining of motor vehicle bodies presents problems with respect to the incorporation of the vehicle headlights. The styling of many cars is so extreme that headlights having conventional dimensions cannot be incorporated into the contours of the car. In many instances these lights are constructed to be movable between a storage position in which they conform to the exterior contours of the vehicle body, and an operating position in which they are erect and jut out from the body. The mechanism for moving the headlights between these two positions adds to the weight and cost of the vehicle and poses additional problems of reliability.
While it is desirable to provide headlights of reduced height which are capable of conforming to the contours of streamlined vehicle bodies, conventional headlights frequently cannot be adapted to these dimensional constraints. A conventional headlight generally includes a light source and a parabolic reflector element which causes a collimated light beam to be projected in a forward direction. The parabolic reflector must be capable of collecting and reflecting a sufficient amount of the light emitted by the light source to meet the forward illumination requirements of the vehicle. If, due to dimensional constraints of the overall headlight dimensions, the reflector element must be below a minimum height of about two inches, the light output of such a headlight will be insufficient to meet those illumination requirements. Hence, for such situations, the above-mentioned dual position headlight is generally preferred.
In a conventional headlight, a portion of the output of the light source does not reach the parabolic reflector element and is projected forward in scattered form. As such, it contributes only little to the illuminating strength of the projected light beam. In order to strengthen the light beam, some headlights include a collimating lens placed forward of the light source, which has the effect of collimating and projecting forward this previously scattered portion of the output of the light source and thus strengthening the projected light beam. However, even that contribution may be insufficient to overcome the light deficiency that arises when the headlight is subject to the previously stated height constraint.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a headlight of reduced height-to-width ratio which is not subject to the disadvantages associated with existing vehicle headlights.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a vehicle headlight of reduced height-to-width ratio which is capable of meeting the forward illumination requirements of the vehicle on which it is mounted.